QBA meets with H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt
On the sidelines of his participation in the Doha Forum, H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, met with the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA), the meeting was attended by QBA board members Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al Thani, Sheikh Nawaf Nasser bin Khaled Al Thani, Mr. Saud Al Mana, and Mr. Sherida Al Kaabi, along with other QBA members: Mr. Maqbool Habib Khalfan, Mr. Faisal Al Mana, Mr. Youssef Al Mahmoud, and Mr. Hakan Ozdemir, as well as Ms. Sarah Abdullah, QBA Deputy General Manager, in the presence of H.E. Amr El Sherbiny, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Qatar.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly emphasized Egypt's commitment to supporting and enhancing joint cooperation in various fields, particularly the Qatari investments in several sectors within Egypt. He highlighted the alignment between the political leaderships of both countries in expanding the scope of collaboration.
The Prime Minister expressed his aspiration to capitalize on the communication between both sides in the coming period to implement the various visions and proposals discussed. He pointed out the existence of numerous promising investment opportunities that Egypt looks forward to collaborating on with its Qatari counterparts.
Significant Incentives
The Prime Minister reviewed several policies and measures adopted by the Egyptian government to enhance the investment climate. He emphasized that Egypt has made substantial progress in creating opportunities to attract more investments, especially from Arab countries, by resolving challenges faced by investors.
He also highlighted that Egypt is currently implementing an ambitious program in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, with key objectives including improving national economic indicators and strengthening the economy's capabilities.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly pointed out that over the past two years, the Egyptian government has begun issuing the "Golden License" for investment projects. This license serves as an incentive to facilitate procedures for investors by requiring only a single approval without the need for any additional permits, thus enabling faster implementation of projects.
The Prime Minister also highlighted several incentives and facilitation measures recently introduced by Egypt. In this context, he mentioned the signing of an agreement to eliminate double taxation with Qatar, which is set to come into effect at the beginning of January. He also affirmed that a number of investment opportunities have been prepared to be presented to Qatari investors across various sectors, including industry, real estate investment, tourism development, and food security. The Prime Minister also highlighted that Egypt has become a gateway to Africa and has established a strong foothold, offering Egyptian and Qatari companies the chance to form genuine partnerships to enter the African market through Cairo.
Productive Meetings
H.E. Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al Thani, QBA Board member welcomed the Prime Minister and his accompanying delegation to their second home, Qatar. He emphasized that Egypt holds significant importance for Qatari businessmen and investors.
Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal said: "We had the honor of meeting H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi twice, and both meetings were highly productive. As a business community, we have excellent impressions of Egypt following the recent visit of the Association’s delegation, during which we engaged with various government entities and conducted field visits to explore numerous investment opportunities currently under review."
He also highlighted that Egypt’s infrastructure is highly encouraging for attracting Qatari investors, noting the remarkable progress the country has achieved in recent years. He pointed out that there are genuine opportunities for joint investment in Africa through private sector collaboration.
Diverse Investment Opportunities
H.E. Sheikh Nawaf bin Nasser Al Thani, QBA Board member, noted that Qatari businessmen already have previous investments in Egypt across a wide range of sectors. He highlighted several investment opportunities and remarked that the return on investment in Egypt is positive. He also emphasized that the "Golden License" is significant for Qatari investors as it will facilitate the realization of tangible projects in Egypt by Qatari businessmen.
During the meeting, Qatari investors expressed their interest in investing in the Egyptian market across various sectors, particularly in tourism logistics services, port management, and several other sectors.
In this context, the Qatari investors highlighted the importance of collaboration between the private sectors of both countries to implement projects in various regions, particularly in Africa.
The Prime Minister agreed with this perspective, affirming the government’s support for such initiatives. He emphasized that this approach would strengthen partnerships between the private sectors of both countries, enabling them to undertake projects in international markets that offer promising opportunities and significant returns.